Psychology Around the Net: February 17, 2018

Hello, Psych Central readers.

For this week’s Psychology Around the Net, we’re diving into vibes and what causes us to feel them, how we can use our emotions to cause positive environmental change, ways to help children better understand and practice mindfulness, and more.

I’ve chosen to not address the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in this week’s Psychology Around the Net, as many of our Psych Central writers have already and are continuing to do so. I encourage you to browse our latest blog posts for our team’s insights.

How Real Are Vibes: The Good and the Bad? Have you ever picked up a “vibe”? You can’t exactly put your finger on it, but you just feel a situation or a person is or isn’t “right.” You have a good vibe about your new neighbor. You have a bad vibe about how your boss is restructuring the office. Well, some explanations that might help with better understanding “vibes” lie in our brains’ abilities to process a variety of sensory inputs, even if we don’t consciously know we’re doing it.

Taking Too Many Selfies Confirmed to be a ‘Real Psychological Disorder’: More accurately, two India-based researchers, Janarthanan Balakrishnan and Mark D. Griffiths, conducted a study with results that could support the idea that there’s a “gradual scale” mental health professionals could use to determine whether a person exhibits signs of this obsessive behavior.

How to Hack Our Psychology to Take More Eco-Friendly Actions: Renee Lertzman, Ph.D. is an expert on the psychological impact of environmental threats, and after years of researching and teaching she has quite a bit of information for us on how we can use the complicated emotions those environmental threats give us to make positive changes.

People with Depression Use Language Differently – Here’s How to Spot It: It probably comes as no surprise to many of us that people with depression tend to verbally express themselves differently. For a long time, scientists have been trying to figure out the relationship between language and depression, and the results of a new study that focuses heavily on the two components of language — content (what we express) and style (how we express it) — might help us better predict whether a person is suffering from depression.

Teach Kids about Mindfulness with These Everyday Objects: Many adults struggle with mindfulness, so how can we expect children to understand it — much less practice it? Well, a few simple objects — such as snow globes, apples, and even ice cubes — can help children with mindfulness activities.

Why Do So Few Docs Have Buprenorphine Waivers? Only about 5% of America’s doctors have waivers to prescribe buprenorphine — Suboxone — which is a medication to help treat opioid addiction, and some doctors claim bureaucratic hoops and doctor office culture could play roles in why that percentage is so small.

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